AdvanSix Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Strong volume growth, improved market pricing and robust cash flow generation

Sales of $376 million, up 24% versus prior year

Earnings Per Share of $0.98, up 216% versus prior year

Cash Flow from Operations of $57 million, up $37 million versus prior year

Awarded 2021 Platinum Rating for corporate social responsibility from EcoVadis

AdvanSix (NYSE: ASIX) today announced its financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2021. Overall, the Company generated significantly higher sales, earnings and cash flow in the quarter reflecting improved end market conditions and strong execution.

First Quarter 2021 Results

  • Sales up approximately 24% versus prior year driven by 11% higher raw material pass-through pricing, 8% higher volume and 5% favorable impact of market-based pricing
  • Net Income of $28.1 million, an increase of $19.6 million versus the prior year
  • EBITDA of $55.1 million, an increase of $26.4 million versus the prior year
  • EBITDA Margin of 14.6%, an increase of 510 bps versus the prior year
  • Cash Flow from Operations of $57.1 million, an increase of $37.4 million versus the prior year
  • Capital Expenditures of $14.2 million, a decrease of $19.9 million versus the prior year
  • Free Cash Flow of $42.9 million, an increase of $57.3 million versus the prior year

“It's been a terrific start to 2021. The diversity of our product portfolio and strength of our business model and execution is reflected in the strong year-over-year results. We captured sales volume growth and pricing to achieve significant margin expansion, higher earnings and robust cash flow amid recovering demand and a tightened supply environment overall," said Erin Kane, president and CEO of AdvanSix. "We also continued to progress our core strategies. As previously announced, we closed the acquisition of certain assets of Commonwealth Industrial Services (CIS) in January to expand our offerings in sulfur nutrition and the integration and synergy realization are progressing well ahead of plan. This week we were also honored in being awarded a 2021 EcoVadis Platinum Rating in recognition of our strengthening corporate social responsibility performance and ranking us among the top 1% of all companies assessed."

Summary first quarter 2021 financial results for the Company are included below:

($ in Thousands, Except Earnings Per Share)

1Q 2021

 

1Q 2020

Sales

$376,383

 

$302,713

Net Income

28,131

 

8,576

Earnings Per Share (Diluted)

$0.98

 

$0.31

EBITDA (1)

55,050

 

28,631

EBITDA Margin % (1)

14.6%

 

9.5%

Cash Flow from Operations

57,090

 

19,719

Free Cash Flow (1)(2)

42,913

 

(14,381)

(1)

See “Non-GAAP Measures” included in this press release for non-GAAP reconciliations

(2)

Net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures

Sales of $376.4 million increased approximately 24% versus the prior year. Raw material pass-through pricing was favorable by 11% following a net cost increase in benzene and propylene (inputs to cumene which is a key feedstock to our products). Market-based pricing was favorable by 5% compared to the prior year primarily reflecting continued strength in chemical intermediates, particularly acetone. Sales volume in the quarter increased 8% driven by improved end market demand across our product lines.

Sales by product line represented the following approximate percentage of our total sales:

 

1Q 2021

 

1Q 2020

Nylon

22%

 

26%

Caprolactam

21%

 

22%

Chemical Intermediates

38%

 

29%

Ammonium Sulfate

19%

 

23%

EBITDA of $55.1 million in the quarter increased $26.4 million versus the prior year primarily due to higher volume and market-based pricing, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of higher raw material costs including natural gas and sulfur, and an approximately $6.6 million unfavorable non-cash LIFO inventory reserve adjustment.

Earnings per share of $0.98 increased $0.67 versus the prior year driven by the factors discussed above and a lower effective tax rate in the quarter primarily driven by the prior year period tax impact of equity compensation vesting and the Federal carryback claim associated with the CARES Act.

Cash flow from operations of $57.1 million in the quarter increased $37.4 million versus the prior year primarily due to higher net income and an approximately $12 million cash tax refund, partially offset by the unfavorable impact of changes in working capital. Capital expenditures of $14.2 million in the quarter decreased $19.9 million versus the prior year reflecting disciplined capital deployment and following the completion of several high-return growth and cost savings investments in the prior year.

Outlook

  • Expect near-term North America nylon supply tightness and steady demand to continue
  • Expect improved ammonium sulfate fertilizer results through 2021 planting season supported by improving agricultural industry fundamentals
  • Expect favorable acetone industry supply and demand balance to continue
  • Focused on mitigating expected higher raw material input costs
  • Expect Capital Expenditures to be $70 to $80 million in 2021
  • Continue to expect pre-tax income impact of planned plant turnarounds to be $25 to $30 million in 2021

"We are performing well in the current set of industry conditions and the outlook for our business remains favorable. We are targeting a record year of production output supporting higher earnings and robust cash flow in 2021, all while progressing our sustainability initiatives and growth in differentiated products. We are leveraging the momentum built in 2020 as we execute against a focused strategy and continue to strengthen our ability to deliver strong and sustainable shareholder returns over the long-term,” added Kane.

Conference Call Information

AdvanSix will discuss its results during its investor conference call today starting at 9:00 a.m. ET. To participate on the conference call, dial (844) 855-9494 (domestic) or (412) 858-4602 (international) approximately 10 minutes before the 9:00 a.m. ET start, and tell the operator that you are dialing in for AdvanSix’s first quarter 2021 earnings call. The live webcast of the investor call as well as related presentation materials can be accessed at http://investors.advansix.com. Investors can hear a replay of the conference call from 12 noon ET on April 30 until 12 noon ET on May 7 by dialing (877) 344-7529 (domestic) or (412) 317-0088 (international). The access code is 10153579.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix plays a critical role in global supply chains, innovating and delivering essential products for our customers in a wide variety of end markets and applications that touch people’s lives, such as building and construction, fertilizers, plastics, solvents, packaging, paints, coatings, adhesives and electronics. Our reliable and sustainable supply of quality products emerges from the vertically integrated value chain of our three U.S.-based manufacturing facilities. AdvanSix strives to deliver best-in-class customer experiences and differentiated products in the industries of nylon solutions, chemical intermediates, and plant nutrients, guided by our core values of Safety, Integrity, Accountability and Respect. More information on AdvanSix can be found at http://www.advansix.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that our management intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," “outlook,” "project," "strategy," "intend," "plan," "target," "goal," "may," "will," "should" and "believe" and other variations or similar terminology and expressions. Although we believe forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict, which may cause the actual results or performance of the Company to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: general economic and financial conditions in the U.S. and globally, including the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; the scope and duration of the pandemic and pace of recovery; the timing of the distribution and efficacy of vaccines or treatments for COVID-19 that are currently available or may be available in the future; the severity of newly identified strains of COVID-19; governmental, business and individuals’ actions in response to the pandemic, including our business continuity and cash optimization plans that have been, and may in the future be, implemented; the impact of social and economic restrictions and other containment measures taken to combat virus transmission; the effect on our customers’ demand for our products and our suppliers’ ability to manufacture and deliver our raw materials, including implications of reduced refinery utilization in the U.S.; our ability to sell and provide our goods and services, including as a result of travel and other COVID-19-related restrictions; the ability of our customers to pay for our products; and any closures of our and our customers’ offices and facilities; risks associated with increased phishing, compromised business emails and other cybersecurity attacks and disruptions to our technology infrastructure; risks associated with employees working remotely or operating with a reduced workforce; risks associated with our indebtedness including compliance with financial and restrictive covenants, and our ability to access capital on reasonable terms, at a reasonable cost or at all due to economic conditions resulting from COVID-19 or otherwise; the impact of scheduled turnarounds and significant unplanned downtime and interruptions of production or logistics operations as a result of mechanical issues or other unanticipated events such as fires, severe weather conditions, natural disasters and pandemics including the COVID-19 pandemic; price fluctuations, cost increases and supply of raw materials; our operations and growth projects requiring substantial capital; growth rates and cyclicality of the industries we serve including global changes in supply and demand; failure to develop and commercialize new products or technologies; loss of significant customer relationships; adverse trade and tax policies; extensive environmental, health and safety laws that apply to our operations; hazards associated with chemical manufacturing, storage and transportation; litigation associated with chemical manufacturing and our business operations generally; inability to acquire and integrate businesses, assets, products or technologies; protection of our intellectual property and proprietary information; prolonged work stoppages as a result of labor difficulties or otherwise; cybersecurity, data privacy incidents and disruptions to our technology infrastructure; failure to maintain effective internal controls; disruptions in transportation and logistics; our inability to achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of our spin-off including uncertainty regarding qualification for expected tax treatment; fluctuations in our stock price; and changes in laws or regulations applicable to our business. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors in Part 1, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures intended to supplement, not to act as substitutes for, comparable GAAP measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are provided in this press release. Investors are urged to consider carefully the comparable GAAP measures and the reconciliations to those measures provided. Non-GAAP measures in this press release may be calculated in a way that is not comparable to similarly-titled measures reported by other companies.

AdvanSix Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(Unaudited)

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

March 31, 2021

 

December 31, 2020

ASSETS

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

$

14,124

 

 

$

10,606

 

Accounts and other receivables – net

149,461

 

 

123,554

 

Inventories – net

141,810

 

 

180,085

 

Taxes receivable

340

 

 

12,289

 

Other current assets

4,342

 

 

6,969

 

Total current assets

310,077

 

 

333,503

 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment – net

763,605

 

 

765,469

 

Operating lease right-of-use assets

113,458

 

 

114,484

 

Goodwill

17,592

 

 

15,005

 

Other assets

38,051

 

 

34,946

 

Total assets

$

1,242,783

 

 

$

1,263,407

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

Accounts payable

$

173,593

 

 

$

190,227

 

Accrued liabilities

39,724

 

 

41,152

 

Operating lease liabilities – short-term

26,589

 

 

29,279

 

Deferred income and customer advances

19,576

 

 

26,379

 

Total current liabilities

259,482

 

 

287,037

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred income taxes

127,973

 

 

125,575

 

Operating lease liabilities – long-term

87,231

 

 

85,605

 

Line of credit – long-term

246,000

 

 

275,000

 

Postretirement benefit obligations

39,795

 

 

39,168

 

Other liabilities

7,714

 

 

6,899

 

Total liabilities

768,195

 

 

819,284

 

 

 

 

 

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

 

 

Common stock, par value $0.01; 200,000,000 shares authorized;

31,660,339 shares issued and 28,051,056 outstanding at March 31,

2021; 31,627,139 shares issued and 28,033,227 outstanding at

December 31, 2020

317

 

 

316

 

Preferred stock, par value $0.01; 50,000,000 shares authorized and 0

shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020

 

 

 

Treasury stock at par (3,609,283 shares at March 31, 2021; 3,593,912

shares at December 31, 2020)

(36)

 

 

(36)

 

Additional paid-in capital

186,652

 

 

184,732

 

Retained earnings

303,374

 

 

275,243

 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(15,719)

 

 

(16,132)

 

Total stockholders' equity

474,588

 

 

444,123

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$

1,242,783

 

 

$

1,263,407

 

AdvanSix Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(Unaudited)

(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

 

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2021

 

2020

Sales

$

376,383

 

 

$

302,713

 

 

 

 

 

Costs, expenses and other:

 

 

 

Costs of goods sold

317,899

 

 

272,008

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses

19,308

 

 

16,740

 

Interest expense, net

1,544

 

 

1,959

 

Other non-operating expense (income), net

230

 

 

(234)

 

Total costs, expenses and other

338,981

 

 

290,473

 

 

 

 

 

Income before taxes

37,402

 

 

12,240

 

Income tax expense

9,271

 

 

3,664

 

Net income

$

28,131

 

 

$

8,576

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings per common share

 

 

 

Basic

$

1.00

 

 

$

0.31

 

Diluted

$

0.98

 

 

$

0.31

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average common shares outstanding

 

 

 

Basic

28,093,764

 

 

27,942,486

 

Diluted

28,741,066

 

 

28,050,955

 

AdvanSix Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

(Dollars in thousands)

 

 

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2021

 

2020

Cash flows from operating activities:

 

 

 

Net income

$

28,131

 

 

$

8,576

 

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash (used for)

provided by operating activities:

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

16,104

 

 

14,432

 

Loss on disposal of assets

84

 

 

35

 

Deferred income taxes

2,237

 

 

11,204

 

Stock based compensation

2,363

 

 

1,198

 

Accretion of deferred financing fees

141

 

 

130

 

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of business acquisitions:

 

 

 

Accounts and other receivables

(25,119)

 

 

(8,746)

 

Inventories

38,986

 

 

13,644

 

Taxes receivable

11,949

 

 

(7,654)

 

Accounts payable

(13,781)

 

 

(9,752)

 

Accrued liabilities

912

 

 

2,912

 

Deferred income and customer advances

(6,803)

 

 

(6,626)

 

Other assets and liabilities

1,886

 

 

366

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

57,090

 

 

19,719

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

Expenditures for property, plant and equipment

(14,177)

 

 

(34,100)

 

Acquisition of business

(9,523)

 

 

 

Other investing activities

(231)

 

 

(385)

 

Net cash used for investing activities

(23,931)

 

 

(34,485)

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

Borrowings from line of credit

54,000

 

 

133,500

 

Payments of line of credit

(83,000)

 

 

(93,500)

 

Payment of line of credit facility fees

 

 

(425)

 

Principal payments of finance leases

(199)

 

 

(182)

 

Purchase of treasury stock

(443)

 

 

(925)

 

Issuance of common stock

1

 

 

2

 

Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities

(29,641)

 

 

38,470

 

 

 

 

 

Net change in cash and cash equivalents

3,518

 

 

23,704

 

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

10,606

 

 

7,050

 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of period

$

14,124

 

 

$

30,754

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental non-cash investing activities:

 

 

 

Capital expenditures included in accounts payable

$

2,965

 

 

$

11,553

 

AdvanSix Inc.

Non-GAAP Measures

(Dollars in thousands)

Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to Free Cash Flow

 

 

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2021

 

2020

Net cash provided by operating activities

$

57,090

 

 

$

19,719

 

Expenditures for property, plant and equipment

(14,177)

 

 

(34,100)

 

Free cash flow (1)

$

42,913

 

 

$

(14,381)

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure defined as Net cash provided by operating

activities less Expenditures for property, plant and equipment

The Company believes that this metric is useful to investors and management as a measure to evaluate our ability to generate cash flow from business operations and the impact that this cash flow has on our liquidity.

Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA

 

 

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 

2021

 

2020

Net income

$

28,131

 

 

$

8,576

 

Interest expense, net

1,544

 

 

1,959

 

Income tax expense

9,271

 

 

3,664

 

Depreciation and amortization

16,104

 

 

14,432

 

EBITDA (2)

$

55,050

 

 

$

28,631

 

 

 

 

 

Sales

$

376,383

 

 

$

302,713

 

 

 

 

 

EBITDA margin (3)

14.6%

 

9.5%

 

 

 

 

(2) EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure defined as Net Income before Interest, Income

Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization

(3) EBITDA margin is defined as EBITDA divided by Sales

The Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release provide meaningful supplemental information as they are used by the Company’s management to evaluate the Company’s operating performance, enhance a reader’s understanding of the financial performance of the Company, and facilitate a better comparison among fiscal periods and performance relative to its competitors, as these non-GAAP measures exclude items that are not considered core to the Company’s operations.

AdvanSix Inc.

Appendix

(Pre-tax income impact, Dollars in millions)



Planned Plant Turnaround Schedule
(4)

 

 

1Q

2Q

3Q

4Q

FY

2017

~$10

~$4

~$20

~$34

2018

~$2

~$10

~$30

~$42

2019

~$5

~$5

~$25

~$35

2020

~$2

~$7

~$20

~$2

~$31

2021E

~$3

$9-$11

$13-$16

$25-$30

(4) Primarily reflects the impact of fixed cost absorption, maintenance expense, and the purchase of feedstocks which are normally manufactured by the Company.

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